You can try out Safari for MacOS Monterey right now

Apple releases what it calls Safari Technology Previews. This is available now for users of macOS Big Sur. You can install Safari 15.0 on your Mac and it will install as a second app, alongside the existing public version of Safari. You can download the technology preview from Apple's mini site.

You will have both Safari 14 and Safari 15 Technology Preview on your Mac. You can test out the new features as much as you want, and if it gives you issues, switch back to the public build and remove the Technical Preview without having any risk.

Otherwise, sit back and be ready for a new Safari experience and much more coming soon.

Your Amazon Echo and Ring are now sharing your internet with neighbors. Here's how to turn it off

Unless you decide to opt out, all Amazon Echo and Ring users now share a slice of your bandwidth with the neighborhood.

If you have an Amazon Echo, you're now broadcasting a tiny slice of your internet for others to use. You can shut that off in an app.If you have an Amazon Echo or Ring, chances are you're part of Amazon Sidewalk. This new service automatically turned on in your Echo speaker or Ring doorbell when Amazon lit up the feature this week. The purpose is to siphon off a tiny fraction of your internet bandwidth from these two devices and create a kind of neighborhood network that makes it possible to use Amazon gear slightly farther afield.The range isn't terribly far.

People who own the new Amazon Echo, Ring Spotlight Cam and Ring Floodlight Cam will see increased range for their smart home devices, so they can be farther from your router and other gear, but still maintain a reliable connection. Plus, Sidewalk works with other Amazon users, so everyone in your neighborhood can contribute to that larger network. In theory, that means your device could be blocks away from your home and still function.

The problem is, not everyone may want to participate, and to opt out, you need to go through a few steps -- it isn't as simple as mashing a button or sliding a switch on your Echo or Ring. Plus, the public aspect has raised some privacy and security questions. Amazon's Sidewalk network will use three layers of encryption, and Amazon seems confident that security won't be an issue. But it's hard to predict what the actual outcomes will be until the feature is tested more thoroughly.The new Amazon Echo and the two newest Ring cameras work as Sidewalk Bridges.

If you're like me and you want to wait and see before jumping on the Sidewalk express, here's how to disable the feature until you're ready to opt in yourself.

How to disable Amazon Sidewalk on your Echo or Ring

1. Open the Alexa app in your phone. 

2. Tap More in the lower right-hand corner of the app. 

3. Tap Settings. 

4. Tap Account Settings. 

5. Tap Amazon Sidewalk. 

6. Switch Sidewalk off and exit out of the app.

Luckily, the process of opting out of Amazon Sidewalk is simple and reversible.  There's much more to know about how it works and what you should know before participating in the service. 

Some of the biggest announcements from WWDC 2021

Apple’s WorldWide Developers Conference kicked off today with some huge announcements.

Here are a few:

IOS 15 BRINGS BIG IMPROVEMENTS TO FACETIME, UPDATES TO NOTIFICATIONS, AND MORE

Apple announced iOS 15, which brings improvements to FaceTime such as spatial audio, a new “SharePlay” feature that lets you share media with people on FaceTime virtually, updates to Messages, a new look for notifications, the ability to set different “Focus” statuses, updates to Memories in Photos, a redesign to the weather app, and much more.

APPLE IS BUILDING VIDEO AND MUSIC SHARING INTO FACETIME

Apple’s new SharePlay feature will let you watch or listen to content with others virtually. Apple is also introducing a SharePlay API so that other developers can build apps that support the feature.

APPLE IS GOING TO USE AI TO READ ALL THE TEXT IN YOUR PHOTOS

Apple’s new Live Text will digitize text in your photos, which can let you copy and paste text from a photo, for example, or call a phone number that’s in a photo. Apple says it uses “on-device intelligence” for the feature.

YOU’LL SOON BE ABLE TO USE YOUR IPHONE AS YOUR ID AT THE AIRPORT 

Apple’s Wallet will soon let you store your ID in a digital form (in participating US states), which you’ll then use as identification in US airports. 

IPADOS 15 LETS YOU DROP WIDGETS ON THE HOME SCREEN AND BRINGS CHANGES TO MULTITASKING

With iPadOS 15, Apple will let you add widgets to the home screen and access to the app library, which debuted last year on iPhone with iOS 14. Apple is also introducing improvements to multitasking, with new controls that make it easier to manage your apps, and you’ll be able to build apps with Swift Playgrounds.

APPLE ADDS WELCOME PRIVACY FEATURES TO MAIL, SAFARI

Apple announced new privacy-focused features at WWDC including that Apple Mail will block tracking pixels with Mail Privacy Protection and that Safari will hide IPs. Apple is also introducing a new section in settings called the “App Privacy Report.” 

APPLE’S SIRI WILL FINALLY WORK WITHOUT AN INTERNET CONNECTION WITH ON-DEVICE SPEECH RECOGNITION

Apple will let Siri process voice requests on device, meaning that audio won’t be sent over the web and Siri can accept many requests while offline. 

APPLE LETS USERS SEE FAMILY MEMBERS’ HEALTH DATA

Apple is introducing a number of new health-focused features, such as the ability to share health data with your families and with healthcare providers.

APPLE IS MAKING AIRPODS EASIER TO HEAR WITH AND FIND

Apple is is making some new changes to AirPods, such as making it easier to find them on the Find My network and the ability to announce your notifications.

APPLE’S ICLOUD PLUS BUNDLES A VPN, PRIVATE EMAIL, AND HOMEKIT CAMERA STORAGE

Apple’s iCloud is getting a new private relay service and the ability to create burner emails called “Hide My Email.” These will be part of a new iCloud Plus subscription, which will be offered at no additional price to current iCloud paid users.

APPLE ANNOUNCES WATCHOS 8 WITH NEW HEALTH FEATURES

Apple’s upcoming watchOS 8 has new health features, including a new Mindfulness app, improvements to the Photos watchface, and more. 

SIRI IS COMING TO THIRD-PARTY ACCESSORIES

Apple will let third-party accessory makers add Siri to their devices, Apple announced during WWDC. The company showed it on an Ecobee thermostat in its presentation. 

MACOS MONTEREY LETS YOU USE THE SAME CURSOR AND KEYBOARD ACROSS MACS AND IPADS

Apple’s next big macOS release is called Monterey. One big new feature is the ability to use the same mouse and keyboard across your Mac and your iPad. Apple’s Shortcuts app is also coming to the Mac. And Monterey adds improvements to FaceTime, SharePlay, and Apple’s new “Focus” statuses that are coming to Apple’s other software platforms.

APPLE REDESIGNS SAFARI ON THE MAC WITH A NEW TAB DESIGN AND TAB GROUPS

Apple is redesigning Safari with a new look for tabs and tab groups. And on iOS, the tab bar will be at the bottom of the screen to be in easier reach of your thumb. Web extensions are also coming to iOS and iPadOS.

APPLE IS BRINGING TESTFLIGHT TO THE MAC TO HELP DEVELOPERS TEST THEIR APPS

Apple announced that it will let developers use TestFlight to test their apps on the Mac. The company also announced Xcode Cloud, which lets you test your apps across all Apple devices in the cloud.

It takes one minute to stop Apps from tracking you. Here's how.

How to turn off app tracking on new apps

When you download and open a new app, you'll get a notification that asks if you want to let the app track your activity across other companies' apps and websites. You'll also see information about what the app would track. You can tap either Ask App not to Track or Allow. 

When you download an app, you'll see a notification pop up giving you a choice of whether or not you want to give the app permission to track you.

Apple

You can also opt out of app tracking across every app you download by going to Settings > Privacy > Tracking, and toggling off Allow Apps to Request to Track. This means any app that tries to ask for your permission will be blocked from asking, and automatically informed that you have requested not to be tracked. And all apps (other than those you've given permission to track in the past) will be blocked from accessing your device's information used for advertising, according to Apple. 

It's important to note that this doesn't mean ads will disappear. It just means that you'll be more likely to see generic ads, not one for that same pair of shoes you clicked on one time. 

How to turn off app tracking on your already-downloaded apps

For apps that you've already downloaded and may have tracking permissions set up for, you can still turn those permissions on or off on a per-app basis. 

Under Settings, tap an app, and then tap to turn off Allow Tracking. Or, go to Settings > Privacy > Tracking, and tap to turn on or off each app you'll see in the list of apps that have requested permission to track your activity. 

All app developers are required to ask for permission for tracking. If Apple learns a developer is tracking users who asked not to be tracked, they will need to either update their app, or else potentially face rejection from the app store. 

Apple believes that privacy features like these are a differentiator for their products. Cook has said that because the company's business model isn't built on selling ads, it can focus on privacy. 

iOS 14.6 has landed

What’s new in iOS 14.6

Apple Music Lossless and Spatial Audio

Apple Music’s new Lossless, Hi-Res Lossless, and Dolby Atmos features are coming in June, and will require iOS 14.6. Note that you may not see these features as soon as you upgrade to iOS 14.6! These features require a server-side update to Apple Music, which will arrive next month.

Apple Card Family

This version of iOS adds support for the Apple Card Family features announced in at the Spring Loaded event in April. 

Podcasts subscriptions

Apple’s Podcasts Subscriptions feature, also announced at the Spring Loaded event in April, have arrived. Podcast creators will now be able to offer a variety of features for a monthly fee.

Security updates

There are also a wide range of security updates in iOS 14.6 that patch issues related to audio, I/O, and Webkit. Some of them seem pretty major so we recommend updating ASAP.

How to get iOS 14.6

Updating your iPhone to iOS 14.6 (or iPad to iPadOS 14.6) is simple. Just open the Settings app and tap on General and then Software Updates to download the latest release. It can take up to a few hours to become available everywhere around the globe, so don’t be alarmed if it’s not there right at 10am on May 24.

If it’s already more than a day after release and you still don’t see it, try powering your phone down by holding the side button and volume up button for a few seconds, then sliding the “Slide to Power off” control. After a few second, press and hold the side button for a few second to turn your iPhone or iPad back on, and check for the update again.

Release notes

The full release notes for iOS 14.6 are as follows:

Apple Card Family

  • Apple Card can be shared with up to five people, including anyone 13 years or older in your Family Sharing group

  • Apple Card Family adds support for families to track expenses, manage spending with optional limits and controls, and build credit together

Podcasts

  • Subscription support for channels and individual shows

AirTag and Find My

  • Lost mode option to add an email address instead of a phone number for AirTag and Find My network accessories

  • AirTag will show the partially masked phone number of the owner when tapped with an NFC-capable device

Accessibility

  • Voice Control users can unlock their iPhone for the first time after a restart using only their voice

This release also fixes the following issues:

  • Unlock with Apple Watch may not work after using Lock iPhone on Apple Watch

  • Reminders may appear as blank lines

  • Call blocking extensions may not appear in Settings

  • Bluetooth devices could sometimes disconnect or send audio to a different device during an active call

  • iPhone may experience reduced performance during startup



Rumor - Apple Watch 7 to feature flat edges and new Green color

The "Apple Watch Series 7" could feature a new squared-off design similar to the iPhone 12 or iPad Pro, and may also come in a green color akin to AirPods Max.

Prolific leaker Jon Prosser shared the "Apple Watch Series 7" rumors in the latest episode of the Genius Bar podcast with Sam Kohl (via Apple Track). Details were scarce, though Prosser hinted that additional information could be arriving in the future.

Prosser called the refresh a "slight redesign," while Kohl said that the "Apple Watch Series 7" would have a design language similar to Apple's other recent products.

"I think it makes sense to redesign it to fall in line with Apple's other products, Kohl said, adding that the edges of the new wearable are similar to Apple's recent iPad models.

The rumor lines up with predictions aired by well-connected TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in September 2020. At the time, Kuo said that a significant Apple Watch form factor change was in the works and could debut as soon as 2021. 

Additionally, the two podcast hosts hinted that the new Apple Watch would come in a green colorway similar to the one available on Apple's AirPods Max.

Apple expands self-driving car fleet, reduces number of test drivers

Apple has reportedly increased the number of self-driving cars it is testing on California roads, but has halved the number of drivers licensed to operate them.

According to data from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Apple currently has 68 self-driving test vehicles on the road. This marks the first increase in Apple's fleet since August 2019.

An Apple report with the DMV from February indicated that the company's autonomous vehicle technology as a whole seemingly improved. That report indicated that Apple's fleet doubled its road testing miles in 2020. It also had fewer situations where a human driver had to take over than the year prior.

The new data, first seen by MacReports also indicates that the number of Apple autonomous test drivers has decreased to 76. In October 2020, Apple had 154 licensed drivers, meaning that the number has been slashed by nearly half.

Apple is widely rumored to be developing its own self-driving car technology for use in a future autonomous vehicle project. The most recent reports indicate that the Cupertino tech giant is working to release a full-fledged "Apple Car" by the end of the decade.

Back in January, Apple was said to be in talks with Hyundai and Kia about manufacturing the "Apple Car." Those negotiations fell through, but Apple is reportedly eyeing other companies as potential partners.

The Cupertino tech giant reportedly has hundreds of engineers working on vehicular technology under the codename Project Titan. A smaller subset of that group is specifically working on a production vehicle, reports have suggested. Although the signs point toward an actual "Apple Car" hitting the market, there's also a chance that Apple could scrap that plan and release its self-driving technology as a package for other automakers.

Stay on top of all Apple news right from your HomePod. Say, "Hey, Siri, play AppleInsider," and you'll get latest AppleInsider Podcast. Or ask your HomePod mini for "AppleInsider Daily" instead and you'll hear a fast update direct from our news team. And, if you're interested in Apple-centric home automation, say "Hey, Siri, play HomeKit Insider," and you'll be listening to our newest specialized podcast in moments.

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